In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia!

March 6

The much awaited update for Viking Conquest has now entered beta on Steam. The update fixes more and more issues on all released platforms and should improve performance as well as stability, with an extensive list of changes.

In addition to all the fixes, there are a number of additions and improvements to the game! These are fully listed in the changelog but here are some of the highlights:

Note that while this patch should be savegame compatible, we are still in beta so there may be issues. Know that you opt-in at your own risk.

Instructions on opting into the beta below:

To select this, you need to right click on "Mount & Blade Warband" in your Library, select Properties, open the BETAS tab and enter "betapassword" then press Check Codes. Then select the beta from the dropdown menu. You may need to close and restart steam for the download to begin.

February 15

We are receiving a rising number of reports about phishing (scam) attempts lately, where a user, typically named "TaleWorlds Ipek" is sending Steam messages to people, asking for money in exchange for Bannerlord Beta access and a copy of the game.

This is not a TaleWorlds developer, these are not legitimate proposals. You should block and ignore the user (and report them, if you would like to help).

We have already messaged Steam and made reports directly, so hopefully this should be dealt with promptly.

Just for some guidance, here are some things that TaleWorlds as a company can 100% guarantee never to do:
-Request money from anyone over Steam Chat
-Request payment from anyone via Skins from another game (seriously...)
-Open public beta testing, without announcing it on our website or forums

We are a professional company, that is not how we do things.

Use your common sense, and always be cautious when someone is offering you something that seems too good to be true. If anyone was a victim of any of these attempts, they should contact Steam for help. TaleWorlds cannot provide any assistance, we are just trying out best to get this user removed/banned.

Anyway, hopefully most of you are completely unaffected. Have fun playing Mount & Blade!

Modules on Steam Workshop

You can now download, rate and get automatic updates to mods on the Steam Workshop! Go to the Mount&Blade Warband Workshop to try out the mods there. This is still a new feature so please let us know what you think and give us your suggestions, in our discussions forum.

About This Game

In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia!
Mount & Blade: Warband is the eagerly anticipated stand alone expansion pack for the game that brought medieval battlefields to life with its realistic mounted combat and detailed fighting system.

Graphical overhaul: Support added for HDR, FSAA, depth of field, soft particles, tone mapping, and many other effects

New models with greater detail and high-quality textures

Multiplayer battles with up to 64 players. Multiplayer modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Conquest, Battle, and Siege

A campaign allowing you to become the ruler of a faction and convince lords to become your vassals

The ability to upgrade your companions to vassals by granting them lands

The ability to marry a lady of the realm for romance or cold political gain. Try to win a lady’s heart through poetry or bravery

Improved mechanics for soldier morale: Soldiers will break and run away if their morale gets too low

Pick any projectile off the battlefield for use as additional munitions

New motion-captured combat animations

Numerous improvements to the combat system: Your shield will still stop arrows even if you are not actively defending

The ability to play multiplayer matches on random maps as well as hand-designed ones

- Backbone of all combat oriented games- Best melee combat in any game- Dozens upon dozens of mods- Graphics are not the best, but both the developers and modders do an amazing job at making them look very good- You're not going to get bored of this game easily

684 hours divided by 24 hours is 28 and a half days. About a month. With that month, I could've:-Worked extra shifts-Got a girlfriend-Worked out-Became a sociable and likeable personBut I can do most of that stuff in Warband so its okay

-Became a mercenary for a kingdom A who was fighting Kingdom B.-Contract expired. -Accepted contract for Kingdom B against A. -Contract expired. -Attempted to dethrone ruler of B with a claimant.-Dethroned king B with claimant-Abandon new king-Topple both kingdoms A and B and Establish the Kingdom of Morrowind-Set sights on rest of continent...

Mount and Blade: Warband is great. But King Harlaus is literally the worst piece of human refuse in existenceKing Harlaus: Come to my feast at Praven!Me: But Praven's under siege, shouldn't we be marshalling an army or someth-King Harlaus: Who's the king here?Me: You.King Harlaus: That's right. Now you be sure to read all the poetry you can to all the lord's daughters. ♥♥♥♥♥es love poetry.

Me: I took back Dhirim all by myself, so I was wondering if I could maybe get it as a fief?King Harlaus: I will certainly support your claim!(Practically ever lord supports me)(King Harlaus takes it for himself)(I get Peshmir, a poor ♥♥♥ village)

King Harlaus: Here, have the town of Curaw!Me: Oh my god, really? King Harlaus: Of course, for your valiant service (AlsodidIforgettomentionthevaegirsarelayingsiegetoitandyouhavenogarrison?)

But in all truths. This game may not have the looks or style of most others but with its amazing combat and community on such things as NW it makes it one of the best. A heads up though if you wanna get good it is not like most other games, this it take effort and time to be the best.

Okay, I just actually read my own review and noticed it's quite a lengthy piece of work. If you are actually considering buying this game, I'd recommend actually reading this (and other!) review(s) that are of decent length because this game is not easily captured in just a few words.

Mount & Blade: Warband is one of those slightly niche games out there that captures the heart of gamers looking for a medieval world where you play as just another soldier able to pave his legend or die forgotten. There is no storyline, no heroic destiny - you are not Dovahkiin, the fate of the world surprisingly does not rely on your actions, and no, you don't get a magical sword that will vanquish all enemies. Now some people might find this to be a deterrent, but for a game as entertaining as Mount & Blade: Warband, I only saw endless replay value. Having put thousands of hours into both the original Mount & Blade as well as Warband (both of which I originally did not buy on Steam) I can assure you that if this game fits the genre of your preference, you can play it endlessly.

Now what sort of genre IS M&B Warband? You have a lot of choices, you can be a solo mercenary (which is very very hard), lead a group of mercenaries for a noble/king, swear fealty to a king of a faction, or attempt to become the king of your own faction. Remember, M&B Warband is a sandbox game in which you can choose what you want to become. Whatever story you feel like making, embrace it and become. But, for the most part, it is a first-person medieval combat-based campaign of a character trying to make his or her way in the world. Yes, there are some tactics involved, you can create your own little trade caravan and take over the market, you can go around helping all the peasants in the world, and if you have a masochistic streak, you can attempt to work your way into the politics of the game (which like politics, is frustrating). Yet, in the end, it all comes down to fighting your way through life.

Let me jump right into my favorite part: the combat. M&B has a very unique combat system (there are a few glitches here or there, but nothing game-breaking) involving first-person medieval combat on a battlefield that quite possibly may be strewn with horses, people, corpses, quite a few arrows and crossbow bolts (mostly flying at you). You have a variety of weapons to choose, from a heavy siege crossbow to a throwing axe to a mere wooden staff to a glaive to a two-handed sword to... you get the point. Add all of this to being mounted on horses (which have differing physical attributes) for mounted combat and you have the chaos that constitutes a true battlefield.

There are also sieges in this game, which allow you to actively use the terrain to your advantage... or disadvantage. It is very hard to siege a castle on the hardest difficulties (because I mean, when they are sitting on walls raining arrows on you...) but also very rewarding as you can then claim the castle and its revenue for your own. My biggest issue with sieges is that for most cities/castles, you are given a single ladder/siege tower with which to conduct your siege (infrequently you get 2, of which your/their troops only use 1). No matter on which side, this makes for siege defense quite practical when actually participating as every man on the wall is worth a hundred below it. (The combat simulator, which is activated when you don't feel like participating in the battle yourself, generally is very different from actual combat and tends to make defenders weaker than they actually are. At the same time, your troops will also not be getting orders from you and thus will be strategically weaker as well.)

The hardest part about the combat system for myself and I'd believe most others was the ranged combat - especially mounted ranged combat. Everything short of wind and air resistance is factored in, from flight time to the drop from gravity to the sway of your horse to the angle of release to the point of impact on the enemy. It is challenging, rewarding, and all together epic. I'd like to say more about the combat, but if I let my thoughts roam wild on this game we may be forced to deal with a book instead of a review. So let me leave you with an image: Picture yourself holding a shortbow, moving at a slow gallop on your horse, faced with fifty knights charging you with lances couched.

Moving on to the AI in this game: The enemy AI is pretty good (if you play on harder difficulties) and their characters are very strong - as strong as if not stronger than you. You also have the ability to deal with merchants, caravans, kings, nobles, ladies, and the odd "adventurer/hero" who may be willing to join you. Unlike the original M&B, Warband also offers you the option of recruiting vassals from other factions into your faction if you choose to start one. This has made attempting to create a kingdom drastically easier since you no longer need to defend your territory alone from the might of five other kingdoms and their thousands upon thousands of troops. The game also factors in your relationship to the NPCs, which can get very messy very quickly (this is something you should definitely experience for yourself, as words don't really do it justice).

There are also a vast variety of mods for this game (though the vanilla version in and of itself is endlessly playable) that create various scenarios/settings in addition to the vanilla version. Furthermore, Warband brings online multiplayer which (though I personally did not partake in much of) enhances the experience even more.

Warband is unique. It is niche. It is epic. It is the perfect game for a gamer who wants to live his/her own story instead of a repetitive tale created by someone else.

I hope this review helps with your decision making. If you have any questions/concerns or would simply like more information, feel free to leave a comment or contact me.

Sweat pours from my brow as i close in for the last kill of the round, i sense the eyes of dead players spectating watching my every movement. I swing left, then block right to cancel throwing him off guard, i repeat this swing then cancel action about 10 times before commiting to the hit. My sword connects with his dirty russian rags, his hands clutched at the vodka bottle he was using to fight me i lean in close to hear his last words, as he lay there in the snow dying he types out in all chat:' noob, spin 2 win not even good lol', the round ends and the chat fills with abuse.I sit back in my chair and pluck a loose pringle from my neckbeard, i mutter to myself ' free weekend players' before typing bg no re. 7/3 gr8 game 4 me, highly rektommend Carpal tunnel and loss of all social skill worthwhile.

Mount and Blade: WarbandI Love you i spent only 800 hours playing this game but i have been playing this for long as a i remember.i remember the first time i became a vassal, and Then became a king then i took over all of the land and spat in the face of Nords ( thats right ♥♥♥♥ you nords)Then NW came out i join a Regiment and had even more fun. This game is amazing and fun for a sandbox. Bannerlord is own the way and i hope to god they dont ♥♥♥♥ it up. this game derseves a good Expasion Sequal, what ever the hell you call it.

Con. Sure the game looks out of date but you get use to it.crashes when you alt tab but that dont mattercould be more Options for deplomacy ( Just go get a mod)

Great.The Mods for this game are amazing and i hope this game never dies its earn its spot as one of the greats.

Mount And Blade Warband Will forever be one of my Fav games of all time.Now its time for me to go kill some nords

One of the greatest Multiplayer experiences I have ever had. The singleplayer isn't that bad either! I've just been too hooked with M&B MP that I have given M&B SP zero time. I hear nothing but great things from my singleplaying friends though. If you buy this game, I recommend getting the Napoleonic Wars expansion. It's multiplayer only, but that is where I have had the most fun. There are several different game modes. The first is called Siege. In where a defending team must protect their castle from Enemy advancement until the timer has run out, however, keep your head well hidden from them Snipers. As defending team lives are limited to just five. Or less, depending on the time you joined the map. The attackers however, they have unlimited lives but in order to get to you, they must breach a hole in your wall with cannons and then storm the breach; which normally results in your bayonet stuck in their chests as you sing Rule Britannia; or mention the Kaiser if you're playing as Prussia/Austria.The next gamemode in M&B MP is Battle. In Battle, both teams have just one life. And there is no respawning until the round is complete, so if you charge ahead early on and get mowed down by 6 Cavalry who have joined together and created a small posse, then you're going to be waiting 5-6 minutes for the round to end probably. That can be frustrating so I recommend teaming up with your teammates, rather than go lone wolf assasin style. The game also features TDM and DM gamemodes, I don't need to explain these. As they feature heavily in pretty much every game with a gun or sword and has multiplayer.

Overall, I recommend M&B to anybody if you're a fan of the era it's set in, and are war crazy. Or if you like the RPG and open world elements of the singleplayer. The game also has a VERY strong modding community. And you should try out some of the awesome mods. This was a fantastic experience.

After, over 500 hours of the game. I can safely, with all definite possibilities, say that this is indeed a great game.Whether you're a Lord, a commoner, a hunter, a mercenary, a lady rising to aristocratsy, a trader, a slaver, a crossbowman, a leader, a tactician. No matter who you want to be. This game can make you that person.

From fighting atop horses, to fighting on foot, to fighting in sieges, and land-battles. With swords, maces, axes, spears, javelins, bows, crossbows, hammers, picks, pikes, bills, throwing knives, quarterstaffs, even your bare fists - This game will let you do whatever you want to in a Feudal-Based world.

Set in a feudal-Medieval landscape, the same to it's predecessor - Mount And Blade, named Calradia - There will be much to do with much time to do it in. The continent is torn arift, with six rival faction-states all vying for power. Each with it's only courts, castles, cities and vassals (Of whom have quite the amount of family members, be they father, son, brother, sister, nephew, niece, uncle, aunty) -- You're character is free to roam, choosing entirely as to what your role will be in this epic-society.

Be who YOU want to be. Act how YOU want to act. Duels, pillaging, fighting, peace - These, and more, will be your weapons in the feudal life that is Warband. Marry for love, or for power. Become a king, queen, emporer, empress of your own kingdom, empire, rebellion - Help rival lordlings cure their hatreds, or help worsen them.

Now, that I've done the whole "THIS IS A GREAT GAME. BUY NOW." salesman-thing. Onto the actual points about the game, and whether I truly believe the game is worth it's £15 (Because, let's be honest. £14.99 is just £15). Yes. It is. Through my long-time with the game, it's safe to say that I've not even scratched the very surface of the game's entire potential. Being a mostly-singleplayer person, though multiplayer is highly recommended - What with the thousands (Yes. Thousands.) of servers for several of the community mods up, I would be certain to tell you - You will not even be able to contemplate just how many new characters I've made.

But ofcourse, there's the buggy side. In the hundreds of hours I've spent, of my life, on the game - I can say that it's nigh bug-free, and there are only a few that would be of any irritation. Such as the poor use of lances by NPCs, but then again - That's not a bug, that's just the AI right? However, keep in mind that this game is a total sandbox, and the four, maybe five, bugs that exist are (By extreme!) outweighed by the perfection, that is Warband.